Meetings of Importance
by Akku-chan
Summary: Yusuke becomes Naruto's older brother. Being nearly eaten by a demon isn't the best way to meet him, though. YYH Naruto xover DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

Alright, this is the…well, slightly better version of chapter one. I decided to redo this.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho.

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Meetings of Importance

By: Akki no Tama

Prologue

* * *

A blond, blue eyed boy ran as fast as he could, trying to escape whatever it was that was pursuing him. He didn't know what it was, possibly because of his short life. Five years wasn't _that _long.

The boy vaguely noticed his clothes being ripped bit by bit by the tree branches as he raced through the forest. The only thing that entered his thoughts were, _'Run! Run! RUN!' _Nothing else mattered but for how long and how fast his little legs could carry him away from that-that _thing._

That thing was BIG! At least for a five year old child. It had five eyes-BLACK eyes-and it had three jelly like legs and-and-and a bunch of other things the boy couldn't remember. The boy had only glanced at it as he neared the edge of the forest. One glance was enough to tell him to start running. Naruto had a very strong suspicion that the monster though he would be a good snack.

'_Oh please! Don't eat me, don't eat me, don't eat me! I'm not plump! I'm really skinny for my age! Eat that fat guy in my class, Chougee or something!' _Naruto finally thought besides running. _'Someone save me!'_

But he knew no one would. Everyone hated him, at least the people he knew. The kids at school, always picking on him, throwing object and insults his way, sometimes pushing him in the mud. One time, during art projects time, another kid flung green paint in his eyes. Everyone just laughed when the blond boy began to cry. Then there were the grown-ups. They were even worse. At least the kids actually did something, the adults would just glare at him with those cold, icy, hate filled eyes that would make him want to crawl in a hole and die.

The monster that was chasing him roared in rage. They had only been running for a minute but it seemed like it was getting closer.

'_I don't want to die!' _Naruto thought in panic.

Slam!

There was a sudden eerie silence as the creature landed on top of the five year old. It hissed at him and opened its mouth wide, showing rows upon rows of sharp, deadly teeth. Teeth that could tear a child's skin in a flash. The child, apparently, was going to be Naruto.

The blonde boy looked at it in pure fear and horror, scared for his very life. He took in a shaky breath against the painfully heavy weight on his small body and shut his eyes tight, bracing himself to feel his head being ripped off. There was a roar as the creature was about to rip the child's head off, rip HIS head OFF!

Then, the horrible rib cracking weight was gone. He hesitantly opened his eyes to see an angel. Or-at least someone that sort of looked like an angel. The sun was behind his head and he stood proudly, defiantly in front of the horrible monster that nearly killed the blond. Naruto squinted against the sun to take a better look at the man that saved his life.

The man-or teenager, really-looked to be sixteen or so. He had messy, raven hair that wasn't short but wasn't long. The man had chocolate brown eyes that seemed like he knew everything or could see through you if you tried to lie. But upon closer inspection, it looked like he was just bored or lazy. That didn't matter, this is in the eyes of a kid that just had his life saved!

Anyway, the man wore these loose, pitch black pants that had many pockets in them. He also had a long chain going from one pocket to another. His shoes didn't look like anything the blond ever saw, it actually covered the _whole _foot, can you imagine? He also wore this dark green jacket that had a hood and no zippers or buttons. The sleeves only reached to his elbows but there was another shirt underneath, it was light green. There was a spiked collar around his neck and it looked like a decorative tag hung from it. It was also green with something written on it.

Naruto then realized that he didn't look like an angel. What kind of angel wore _that_? He looked like some sort of punk. But then again, his knowledge of angels weren't very strong, only hearing about them from bits and pieces of gossip or other.

The monster-whom Naruto had forgotten upon site of the new comer-roared and hissed at the man. It looked like it was going to try and attack but then its eyes (all three of them-wait, wasn't it five just a moment ago?) widened when it got a closer look at his face. It made an awkward, clumsy sort of bow and tried to back away. Keyword, tried.

The new comer didn't let it go far before he held out his hand and pointed out his index finger, like a gun. There was an odd blue light that shot out and engulfed the monster. Naruto had closed his eyes and when he opened them again, the monster was gone.

The teenager kneeled down next to him and smiled gently, kindly. It was odd, seeing someone giving that look to _him _of all people. Naruto smiled shyly back.

"Hey, you ok?" the teenager asked the blond. His voice was just a tad bit rough. It had a deep, soothing quality to it.

"Um…yeah…I think."

"You're bleeding…" his savior said. Naruto was about to cringe until he realized the teenager wasn't mocking him.

"Oh…" Naruto didn't feel any pain until the stranger pointed it out to him. He placed his hand over one of the wounds and winced when it stung.

"Here, I'll get you home, ok?" He held out his hand in front of the blond, waiting for the boy to take it.

The boy stared at it, as if he didn't understand. Seeing this, the teenager slowly took his hand and helped lift him up. The boy stared at him like he was surprised the other would willingly touch him.

"Um…mister…what's your name?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Urameshi Yusuke. What's yours?" He led the younger boy through the forest and began to walk on a path the other would be able to follow. Once he tried to pull his hand away but Naruto didn't look like he wanted to let go, happy for human contact. The older one didn't press it or try it again.

"Uzumaki…Naruto…" As soon as he said it, he waited for his savior to pull away in disgust or anger. It didn't come.

"What were you doing here, out in the forest by yourself?" Yusuke asked, completely ignoring the boy's body language.

"I…I went to train but…that monster attacked me."

"Oh, it's nothing but a low class demon. Usually, one of your chuunin could take it down easy."

"D-demon?"

Yusuke shrugged carelessly. He lifted a branch that was in Naruto's way. "Yeah, maybe an E-superior or D-inferior. At most, probably D-middle. Um…maybe I should stop talking…you look pale…"

"S-sorry."

"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong."

'_Whatever's wrong in the world is _your _fault, you freak! Monsters like you have to live on our charity, you're lucky we're so nice!' someone spat towards a blond boy._

'_Monster!'_

'_Demon!'_

'_Idiot!'_

'_Dobe!'_

"Naruto!"

"Huh?" Naruto looked up to the person who called him. Yusuke looked at him with worried eyes.

"What's wrong?" the teen asked.

"N-nothing!"

"Uh-huh, sure. You're one strange kid." Yusuke yawned and didn't bother to cover his mouth. "Hey, do you know what day it is?"

"Huh? No."

"Oh well. It feels like days since I've had some sleep." Yusuke looked bored, or tired, and led Naruto through a clearing. "Hey, shouldn't you be worried about what your parents think? You know, your clothes and all. Plus, me bringing you home isn't exactly going to help either." The teen glanced at him.

"I don't have parents." Naruto tried to say it without his voice breaking.

"Oh…" There was silence until Yusuke asked, "What about the orphanage?"

"I don't live there. I live by myself." There was a halt as soon as he finished.

"They let a KID live by HIMSELF? What kind of humans are those people?" Yusuke raged, mostly to himself.

Naruto stood quietly and had his head bowed. Yusuke immediately calmed down as he caught the look and explained, "No, I'm not blaming you." He sighed. "Why do they do that…I thought they were better than demons, leaving a child to defend for himself…" He started walking again, tugging Naruto's arm to signal him to continue walking.

"Do you know a lot about demons?" Naruto asked. He wasn't comfortable with the subject they were on.

"I…guess you could say that."

"Am I one?"

Yusuke stopped again, this time to stare at his companion. "Why would you think that?"

Naruto looked at the ground as he spoke. "All the villagers call me a monster…"

Yusuke didn't say anything. It looked at he was examining the boy before him. He eyes glowed a faint red before settling down again. It looked like he just figured something out. "Don't worry, you're not a demon. They're just idiots." Yusuke waved his hand dismissively. "Besides, not _all _demons are bad."

"Huh?" Naruto gave him a confused look.

"I'm a demon. Well, half, actually."

There was an awkward pause as Naruto stared dumbly at him. "You're…a demon?"

"Yeah, do you have a problem?" Yusuke rolled his eyes.

Naruto thought about it before he tightened his grip on the teen's. "No."

Yusuke blinked in surprise but smiled at him. Naruto felt like he just passed some sort of test. The teen nodded and continued to walk. After a few moments, Yusuke asked, "Do you like your village?"

"…The people are really mean."

"But do you like your village?"

"No…"

"…You wanna stay with me? Or, at least with my mom? She's human, but since I kind of have this job that makes me really busy, she's lonely by herself at home…so…if you want to stay over for a bit, or stay permanently…either way is fine…or not stay at all is ok too…"

"Per-ma-nent-ly?" Naruto asked, struggling with the word.

"Um…How can I explain that in five years old talk? It means a really, really, really, really, really, really long time. Like, almost forever."

"R-really?"

"Sure, why not. Not like it would hurt or-oof!"

Naruto tackled the raven haired teen and hugged his knees, the highest he could reach. Yusuke gave an awkward smile as he placed a hand on top of the little boy's head. "Um…you're welcome. Hey, are there any people you want to tell?"

"…The Hokage."

"The who?"

"The leader of the village."

"Whatever."

Yusuke began to walk, leading them again. After a while, he reached the edge of the forest. Yusuke saw some buildings in the distance and headed for them.

"Yusuke-'nii-san…" Naruto tested. After no objection to the name, he continued. "Are you really strong?"

"Well, being one of the three demons lords, yeah, I'd say strong."

"Huh?"

Yusuke sighed. "Yeah, I'm really strong."

"What will you do if the Hokage says no when we ask?"

"Who said we were asking?" Yusuke grinned at him. Naruto grinned back.

Naruto decided he liked his new older brother. He was strong, nice, and had a good sense of humor. He didn't act like a half demon, either, even if the boy never actually talked to a demon before. But people would think they were mean and ugly and big. Not that it mattered. Maybe Yusuke was the exception.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the Hokage's secretary's desk. Naruto was too short to see over it, even with tipee toes. He placed the hand that wasn't occupied on top of the desk to try and use it as a leverage. Didn't work. He was still about three inches too short.

Yusuke was calmly talking to the lady.

"Hey, miss, can I talk to the Hokage?" Yusuke asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm sorry, but Hokage-sama is busy with someone at the moment. If it is something…that _boy _did, you will just have to wait," the lady said, looking disdainfully at the blond.

"You know, you're kind of cute," Yusuke said, going at a different approach. "Maybe if I can finish this up fast, we could go get dinner?"

Naruto gave Yusuke a disbelieving look. Some of the Anbu standing guard just shook their heads in amusement. They were watching, finding it interesting.

"No thanks. I don't date guys five years younger than me."

Yusuke gave a sheepish laugh. "You mean you're not in your teens? I could have almost sworn that you were. You look so young!" Some of the Anbu were laughing out right at this.

"Sir, if you want to talk to the Hokage so badly, you can arrange an appointment with him," the secretary stated blandly.

"See, I kind of need to do it now. I'm really busy-"

"So is Hokage-sama."

"-and I have to leave pretty soon. Can I please talk to him now?" Yusuke gave her a winning smile, or at least, what sort of looked like a winning smile.

"I can't do that. You'll need an appointment."

Yusuke took in a deep breath before asking, "When's the soonest time possible?"

"Next month."

"Listen here, you-" Yusuke's sentence was cut off by another's.

"Actually, they can talk to me now."

Yusuke turned, along with Naruto.

"Alright, Hokage-sama," the secretary said respectfully.

"That's your leader? He looks really old." Yusuke looked the man up and down, almost as if out of habit or to empathize his point.

"Mind your manners!" the secretary screeched at the teen.

The Hokage laughed lightly. "Ah, children these days."

"Don't call me a child, old man!" Yusuke said loudly, annoyed. "Come on, let's talk." Yusuke rudely opened the doors to the Hokage's office and dragged a helpless Naruto along.

The Hokage shook his head, an amused smile on his face. He followed the raven haired boy into the room. He closed the door and took a seat in front of them. "What did Naruto do now?"

"I didn't do anything!" Naruto automatically yelled. This was one of those few times it was true.

"I'm taking him with me." Yusuke looked straight into the old man's eyes.

The Third stopped smiling and frowned instead. "I know you are not of this village so I do not think that is a good idea."

"I'm _glad _I'm not of this village, from what I've seen. You people disgust me." The half demon almost spat the words out.

Sandaime winced at the words but said, "No, I do not think it wise. You don't understand-"

"I understand perfectly. I know what he has and why the villagers hate him."

Naruto looked at him in surprise at that. He didn't know why they hated him, why would his new brother know? He only knew him for a couple of hours! Or was it only one hour? Little kids weren't supposed to know the value of time!

"How…do you know?"

"For a time, it was one of the biggest gossip topics. It was unheard of, a Kyubi being defeated by one human. They made up these wild rumors how it was defeated. You're just lucky they didn't come here to see how strong the people of this village were if _one _human could defeat such a strong demon."

"Who are _they_?" the Hokage asked, paling at every word. "How did they know? There was a law that prohibited anyone from telling another."

"If one of the strongest humans alive was defeated in battle, everyone human alive would know, right? Why wouldn't it apply to demons too?"

There was a pause. It felt like the air was suddenly thicker. "I'm not sure if I understand this correctly…"

"You don't need to. Let's go, Naruto."

Yusuke got up and gently pushed the younger boy towards the door.

"I can't let you leave, how do I know-"

"That I won't hurt him?" Yusuke stopped walking and placed his hands over the blonde's shoulders. "Even if I meant him harm, it couldn't be much worse then what _they _are doing to him, right? Slowly eating away his sanity, the pain of loneliness nipping at the edges of his heart. Then, practicing with a kunai, the accidental slice of flesh doesn't look so bad. That red, delicious blood slowing dripping down his wrist. The pain numbing his thoughts. All he wants was to not feel those eyes on his back, as if they would strike at any moment to-"

Naruto felt one of his brother's hands lift up and do something he couldn't see.

In the middle of Yusuke's talking, the Third had adopted a grave expression. Now he just looked tired.

"Do you understand?" Yusuke asked as he replaced his hand over Naruto's shoulder. "This kid is human and he deserves better than the life of a demon's. I know how they live, and this place is no better for him. At least they don't cover theirs up with false kindness."

"If you are what I think you are, why would you wish to help?" the Third asked, wanting to be absolutely sure Naruto would be in safe hands. He knew he would not be able to stop the demon before him.

"I'm only half." Yusuke shrugged. "Besides, don't you think it would be better for him to experience something semi-normal for once?"

"Do you live with…them?"

"No…well, sort of. I kind of switch from place to place, but he can stay with someone I know and trust, someone who is a human. She'll take good care of him." Yusuke gave him his cocky grin.

"Yusuke-nii-san, are we leaving yet?" Naruto asked, craning his neck to look at the teen.

"Yeah. It's about time, too." Yusuke yawn. "I still need to get some sleep." He turned towards the door.

"Wait!" The Hokage offered something to Yusuke-which he took-and explained, "When he is old enough, he should understand what happened…and…why. Can you train him? Some people might be after him and even you might not be able to protect him all the time…"

"Like I would leave him defenseless. He has to learn to do some things on his own, anyway. That all, old man?"

"Yes, I suppose so."

"Ok."

Yusuke opened the door and gave Naruto a little push to get him moving. Before he left, Yusuke said over his shoulder, "Don't worry 'bout it, ya old geezer. My name's not Urameshi Yusuke for nothing."

The Hokage didn't know how to react to that. Five minutes later, after they were long gone (Yusuke had opened a portal where no prying eyes could go) the Third accidentally yelled out, "THE Urameshi Yusuke?"

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End Prologue

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Ok…that's the new version. Not much of a difference, really. 


	2. Chapter One: Meet Shinobi

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or Naruto.

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Meetings of Importance

By: Akki no Tama

Chapter One: Meet Shinobi

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A pink haired girl sat on the grass, crying softly. She wiped at her tears as she tried not to touch her hair, in case it revealed her overly large forehead. It was like this everyday, she would go outside and as soon as the adults were out of hearing range, the other kids would mercilessly tease her.

She hugged her knees to her chest, trying to stifle her sobs. The tears only made the other kids laugh anyway.

So there she was, curled up in fetal position with only her misery as company. She wished she had friends.

Suddenly, a pink flower was thrust in front of her face and came to a stop just an inch from her eyes. She blinked rapidly in surprise and stared at the hand holding the flower-wasn't it a sakura blossom?-and shuffled in discomfort. The hand holding the flower was small, a child's hand, and it was wearing a fingerless black glove that had a spiral symbol stitched in white at the back.

She peaked cautiously at the hand's owner. It was a boy that was probably shorter than her. He wore a black t-shirt that had the same white symbol on the glove at the front. He wore black jeans that had white pockets that weren't tight fitting nor loose. A chain hung from one pocket to another, odd for someone his age. It also looked too long for him. A black bandanna was tied to his head, covering the top part of his shoulder length blond hair. He wore a friendly smile on his face, had three scars on each cheek, and had the most beautiful blue eyes _ever_.

She thought she was going to faint at how…how…_cute _he was. He was somewhat feminine looking but had enough masculinity to show he was male. Then again, it was sometimes hard to tell the difference in gender for kids.She numbly took the flower from his hand and he smiled even wider at her.

"Hey! You should smile more!" the strange boy said. "My 'nii-san told me people feel a whole lot better if they'd only smile more." He pointed at his smile and then made a motion with his hands showing her to do the same.

The pink haired girl made a weak attempt and managed to get a small, shy smile going.

"There! See? You look a whole lot better!" he said energetically. "Hey, what's your name?"

The girl shuffled a little and mumbled, "Ha-Haruno Sakura."

"That's a pretty name," the blond child said. "Hey! It's the same name of the flower I gave you! Cool, huh? You know, that flower matches the color of your hair. That's so neat!"

Suddenly, there was a beeping noise, interrupting what he was going to say next. The blond child stuck a hand in one of his pockets-the one without a chain-and pulled out a circular black object, it also had a white swirl on it. He flipped it open and there were some weird noises-growls?-that came from the odd object. He nodded at it, closed it, and put it back in his pocket.

"I have to go, Sakura-chan!" he said in a regretful tone. "Maybe I'll see you some other time!" He waved at her with a smile and ran off, his chain jingling.

She waved at him shyly until he was out of site. She froze when she realized she didn't know his name.

Sakura looked at the flower she held and couldn't help but smile, hoping to see the cute blond boy again.

* * *

Naruto looked back and forth, searching. He growled in annoyance when he couldn't find what he was looking for. The eight year old pulled on his chain-a gift from Yusuke-and unhooked it from his pants. He held one end of it in his left hand and held what looked like a handle of something attached to the other end of the chain. He flipped out the blade, making it into a mini scythe. His weapon of choice has about ten inches long and was black and white.

His older brother Yusuke chuckled a little when he found out he wanted to be trained into using it and said how "fitting" it was for him. He would bring death to his enemies. The teen gave him the chain and told him it would make the weapon long distanced but he could make it into a close combat weapon as soon as he took the chain off. Naruto remembered he smiled in childish delight when Yusuke unhooked the chain from his own pants.

As his mind wondered, he became distracted and didn't feel the presence of someone approaching him.

Bam!

"Owww! That hurt!" Naruto whined.

"Stupid ningen brat," the demon growled, its overly large fangs making it hard to understand. The demon was an unbecoming shade of purple and had scales. It was the demon Naruto was assigned to kill, the demon had dared to leave Yusuke's lands and escape to the human world.

His older brother had no been too sure of this arrangement. He had thought Naruto too young for such things, still did. He only relented after Hiei said more and more demons were growing bolder to cross the two worlds. Still, Yusuke only let him go after the low ranking ones. Naruto had an odd suspicion that his older brother sent someone to watch him during these missions but couldn't prove it.

Naruto snapped to attention when the demon started to move. It wasn't very fast, but it was still a demon and had several years of experience compared to the blond. It was an E-class demon, so it was a good start for him. If he could kill the demon, he might be able to prove to Yusuke that he could handle harder missions. At least, he hoped so.

Naruto decided to take the offensive. He threw his scythe and swung the chain, aiming for the neck.

The demon ducked and rolled to the side, stood on all fours, and charged.

Naruto didn't expect that and was caught off guard. This demon certainly fought differently from Yusuke or Kurama. He wished he had more experience with fighting other people but Hiei refused to fight a child and Kuwabara said it went against his honor code. Kurama only agreed to spar with him once and a while after Yusuke repeatedly asked the red head for months. His older brother didn't bother asking Hiei, knowing how he was, and said Kuwabara probably wouldn't help him much anyway. After he said that, the orange cropped teen got in a fight with him, ending up with Kurama threatening them with something Naruto couldn't see. He thought it was photos but he wasn't sure. That fox sure was sneaky.

Naruto was thrown into a tree and he winced in pain. He took his scythe and dug it into the bark above his head, using that as leverage to jump a couple of feet onto a tree branch. He jumped to another branch to avoid being hit by the purple demon.

The demon flipped onto the branch the blond abandoned and jumped after the blond. Naruto jumped back onto the ground and tripped on something. He glanced at what it was and quickly picked it up and threw it at the demon.

The kunai flew towards the demon, who fell off the branch to avoid it. Naruto quickly took advantage and used his scythe to cut the demon's foot. The demon howled in pain and Naruto silently slit the side of its neck to avoid getting the wind pipe in the way of his cut.

The demon quickly died and Naruto stood there, breathing heavily from exertion and adrenaline. These missions were harder than he thought.

Hopefully Kurama wouldn't nag him on his now dirty clothes like he does to Yusuke every once in a while. Sometimes the demon lord came home with his clothes ranging from completely ruined to slightly dusty.Yusuke would always grumble and then he was forced to clean the clothes himself.

Naruto dusted himself off, hoping it would become magically cleaner. Didn't happen. He sighed in defeat and began to run towards to village he saw earlier, where he met that pink haired girl, Sakura. It was getting dark and he needed a place to stay. Hopefully Yusuke wouldn't worry too much.

* * *

Naruto ran out of the inn he tried to get a room in and scowled darkly as he walked down the road. His face showed anger but his eyes betrayed nothing. Now he remembered this place, it was the hell hole Yusuke rescued him from. He was leaving pronto! No way would he stay in this place. Even if he had to travel all night.

Some people looked at him curiously, wondering why he was so angry looking. The few who recognized him scowled openly, whispering darkly to their friends, who immediately looked at him in disgust.

The blond grew annoyed. He angrily stomped on the ground with every step he took and didn't watch where he went. His emotions always did blind him, Kurama had warned. Yusuke taught him to mask his emotions but they both failed to teach him how to block it from affecting his mind.

Slam!

Naruto fell on his butt and quickly stood up, apologizing to the person he walked into. It was a boy who scowled at everything and everyone. He had raven hair which reminded Naruto of his older brother's, coal black eyes, and a pretty boy face. Naruto had already forgotten his anger from his surprise.

"Sorry! I guess I wasn't watching were I was going!" Naruto said, smiling in apology.

The boy glared at him and walked away.

"Whoa, that didn't go well," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head, a habit he picked up from Yusuke. He frowned. "Enma-sama! Everyone in this village sucks!"

"Hmm…That isn't a very nice thing to say."

Naruto jumped in surprise at the person who spoke to him. He stared wide eyed at a man wearing nothing but black clothing and white armor, along with a porcelain dog mask covering his face. His spiky silver hair peeked from behind his mask.

The man held up a hand in greeting. "Yo."

Naruto stared at him and then glanced around him. When he realized the man was talking to him, he hesitantly replied, "Hi…"

"Hokage-sama wants to meet you," the strange man said.

Naruto stared at him in confusion, then a look of comprehension crossed his face. He looked up at the sky for a minute before nodding. "Alright. Can you show me the way? I don't remember it."

The man nodded and then stuffed his hands in his pockets before leading them to the tower.

Silence engulfed them and Naruto wanted something to break it. It was so uncomfortable and he hated it when it was quiet. Therefore, he had to break the silence, meaning he had to strike up a conversation, even if it was one sided.

"So, how's…um…this village?" Naruto asked, pausing when he couldn't remember the name of his old home.

"Konoha? Hmm…I'd say it's been doing well. How about yourself?" the man asked.

Naruto looked at him suspiciously, wanting the man to know he didn't trust him. "What's your name?"

"Mine's?" Naruto could tell he was being purposefully stupid. _Shinobi_. Humph.

"Uh-huh."

"Hm…It's Kakashi," the man answered after a pause. "How have you been doing, _Naruto_?"

Naruto closed off his emotions and inwardly smirked. So the man was trying to earn his trust by being friendly, huh? That might have worked before he met Yusuke. Well, he could be purposefully stupid too. The demon lord would snort at that, saying he was naturally stupid. Then Naruto would play a prank on him and he would retaliate by giving him a noogie. "Me?"

"Yup!"

"Hmm…I dunno…Yesterday I guess I was ok. But the day before that I was really bored. There was nothing on TV and there wasn't really anything else to do. I tried to draw a picture but it came out all messed up. I showed it to 'nii-san and he said it looked nice but I could tell he was trying not to laugh."

The man nodded to show he was listening, but Naruto could tell he grew bored of his childish talk.

"Oh! Do you know what?" Naruto asked excitedly. The man turned his head, as if in interest. "I love ramen! It's the best thing in the world! Well, next to 'nii-san. It has all these different flavors! I think all of them are good! But my absolute favorite is miso ramen! 'nii-san likes ramen too but he won't let me eat it all the time, he told me it would get me so fat that I would explode!" Naruto widened his eyes and looked at Kakashi fearfully, which was fake but the other didn't need to know that. "Would that really happen? Ahh! I'm going to die! I love ramen but-"

"We're here," the shinobi interrupted, a little hastily, Naruto mentally noted with satisfaction.

"Oh! Cool! Thanks!" Naruto happily skipped into the building, Kakashi following silently behind him. Kakashi nodded to the secretary as he pasted by. Naruto stopped in front of the big twin doors and pushed them open to find an old man behind a desk. The old man was smiling at him.

Naruto easily smiled back, remembering he was the few, if not the only one, who treated him like a normal kid.

"Hey, 'jii-san!" Naruto said loudly, earning glares he felt on the back of his head.

"Naruto, it's good to see you again," the Hokage said warmly. He nodded to Kakashi and they were left alone, the doors closing behind Naruto. "How long has it been? Three years?"

"I guess," Naruto answered, sliding into the seat in front of the Third. "How have you been?" Naruto blinked at how mindlessly that came out, though his tone was polite. He could only pin the blame on Kurama. Surprising how he could rub off on him while the other people he hung out with were so…_not_ polite.

"Fine, fine. How have you been? Have you been taken care of?"

Naruto nodded. He frowned when nothing else was said. The blond crossed his arms and said, "Cut to the chase, 'jii-san. What do you want to know?"

The Hokage stared at him more a moment before he stated, "You grew up."

"Well, I _was _trained by Urameshi Yusuke himself, you know," Naruto answered smoothly, but the last bit came out prideful.

"I see…so he kept his word…I must admit, Naruto, I still am a bit surprised about him. He's nothing like I would imagine. Of course, all I've heard about him were rumors…" The Hokage paused. "How is he taking care of you?"

"Well enough," Naruto answered bitingly. He muttered, "Better then this place."

The Third caught the last bit and sighed with deep sorrow. "I must admit, this village disappointed me in how they treated you. I suppose it was all for the best that you left."

Naruto shrugged.

"Did he tell you about…did he tell you _why_?" The Hokage studied Naruto for any reaction.

Naruto looked at him with dead eyes. "Yes, he did. He also said that it was a stupid reason to hate me. It wasn't my fault, I couldn't do anything about it." The blond placed his small hand over his stomach. "You know, he couldn't remove it. He got all kinds of experts, demon and human alike. They told him that our energies have intertwined too much and it would kill me if Kyubi was removed."

"I see." The Hokage looked away guiltily.

"You remember that scroll you gave him?" At a nod, Naruto continued. "He showed it to me, about a month ago, actually." He sighed. "I…He told me not to blame anyone…'nii-san told me they didn't know any better…and not to blame the ignorant…and the scroll told me the same thing. I know why the Yondaime…my otou-san…chose me to be the sacrifice…he said he knew how they would react despite his last wishes…"

The Hokage nodded in understanding. "This must be hard for you."

"It…is…a little…but it would have been harder if I had stayed in this village…" Naruto shook his head. "Can you actually believe otou-san asked me to become a shinobi of this village?"

The older man blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that. Of course, he hadn't read the scroll, he respected the Fourth too much for that. "Are you going to be?"

"I don't know…" Naruto held his head in his hands. "I asked Yusuke-'nii-san…he told me it was my decision and he would support whatever it was…I want to be strong…I want to be as strong as him so if he's in trouble, I can help him. But I also want to fulfill my father's last wishes…I can't do both."

"Why?" The Hokage honestly didn't know.

Naruto answered immediately, as if he had thought of all this before. "How can I grow strong in a village that hates me? I'd rather not have hate become my reason to grow strong, or for something so negative. It sounds so empty and it's just too depressing. Besides, I don't think I can protect a village that won't appreciate my efforts."

"Naruto, what do you do right now? What could you possibly be doing to go this far out?" The third looked at him with intense eyes.

The blond blinked slowly, processing the question. "Well, I'm helping. I mean, I'm guarding this world from the demon realm. At least, a little bit."

"And why do you do it?"

Naruto frowned and looked at the Sandaime as if it was obvious. "Because I want to help, of course!"

The Hokage smiled gently. "And yet, no one here appreciates your efforts. In fact, they don't even know there are guardians to protect them from demons. Tell me, Naruto-kun, why can't you do both?"

The young blond sat there for a long while and thought about it with a frown. His arms were crossed and his eyes were closed, the very picture of concentration. Sandaime sat there quietly, patiently waiting for his answer. Afterwards, he had his answer.

"It's different," Naruto finally said. "To protect this world from demons, I remain impartial to what is actually happening in this world. I blindly protect it. Actually living in this village and actively protecting it from demons and other humans is unfair. Why should this village be different from the others? Why does it get more protection?" Inwardly, Naruto was amazed he used so many big words with such a big concept. This was way beyond an eight year old's thinking. Kurama really _was _rubbing off on him. Yusuke wouldn't show such insight unless he was forced to.

The Hokage smiled again, albeit a little more sadly. "Do you understand what a shinobi is?"

"Duh! That was the first thing the academy taught us." Naruto felt a bit insulted he would be asked that.

Sandaime shook his head. "No, do you understand? Naruto-kun, you know what a shinobi is, but do you understand what it is to be one?"

This time, Naruto paused to think about it. "Well…a shinobi would do anything for his village," Naruto said, thinking out loud. "To kill, to protect, to grow strong for his village's glory. To be nothing more…than a tool. To have no emotions, because…emotions would…interfere with the misson." Naruto gnawed on his lower lip, trying to remember what had been taught to him so long ago.

"Correct."

Naruto's eyes flashed and he exclaimed, "Than what is the point of protecting this village? Why should I become a shinobi? Damn it, why would _anyone _want to be? With the way your priorities are set, all of you will die anyway!"

"Ah…but Naruto-kun, then why would Urameshi-dono want this world to be protected?" the Hokage asked gently.

The blond froze. He didn't know.

"I wouldn't mind you coming back to the village," he continued. "I trust that you know what you are doing and it certainly isn't my place to question someone like Urameshi-dono. But, wouldn't it be nice to understand _why _you are protecting such a world?" The Hokage sighed. Naruto felt guilty for shouting. He was old and he looked so _tired_. "You can grow strong with ambition. When you have something to protect, you grow even stronger."

Naruto nodded slowly. After a few moments of thinking, he said, "I…think I'll become a shinobi, just to honor otou-san's wishes. He never did mention how long in the scroll, so maybe I'll only become part time or something." Naruto shrugged.

The Hokage thought about this. It would certainly benefit the village. Who knew how strong Naruto was, especially with Yusuke's training…it was just unfortunate the village couldn't have treated Naruto better. Then he wouldn't have had to lead such a difficult life. It would have been a simpler but also unhappy life if he stayed here, it was a dangerous but happier life he was living now.

"Yes…that's a good decision," the Hokage answered. "I don't know how long you are willing to stay here or how far you wish to take your career as a shinobi. No matter what rank you stay at, even at genin, I only wish for you to find your answer."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought, then nodded in agreement. "What's the age people usually pass the genin exam?"

"Twelve." The Hokage pulled on one of his drawers and took out a book labeled "Shinobi: the Basics." He handed Naruto the book. "This is all that is required for the academy graduates."

"I'll be back in four years, then." Naruto took the book and nodded to him. He left the office. "I'll work hard!" he added over his shoulder. _'Old people,' _Naruto thought with a smile, _'are really smart.'_

He walked out of the building, every pair of eyes on him. After a short distance of walking, he spotted that boy he bumped into earlier. He was sitting next to a lake. The blond decided to go over and talk to him.

"Hey!" Naruto greeted. "Remember me?"

The other boy glared at him.

Naruto, undaunted, took a seat next to the boy and smiled back at him.

After a moment of glaring with nothing as a response but a smile, he looked away and glared at the water.

"You know, if you continue to do that, you'll get wrinkles," Naruto stated. He smiled. "It takes a whole lot more muscles to frown than smile." Naruto remembered how Kurama had told him that when he had scowled after being denied ramen.

"It's none of your business," the boy spat out.

"Someone's in a bad mood." Naruto frowned. "What's wrong?"

The boy turned to give him a vicious and hostile look before looking at the water again. Naruto grew annoyed at the other's lack of change.

"Hey! I'm trying to be nice here!" Naruto said angrily. "Jeez! Fine, be that way!"

Naruto stood up to leave but then stopped. He got this mischievous look on his face. He whirled round and pushed the dark haired boy into the water. The boy spluttered when he came back up. He shot the blond an angry look.

"Hmm?" Naruto gave him an innocent look. "What's wrong?"

The boy splashed water at him. Naruto stood there in a moment of shock, looking surprised at the smirk playing on the other's face. He carefully put down the book he was still holding. Then ensued a water fight.

It was childish. It was immature for them. But it was fun, the most childish fun they had in a long time. Just two kids playing around with nothing else to do.

* * *

"_Shinobi_," Hiei sneered after Naruto finished talking.

Hiei had been at Kurama's house at the time, one of the rare times he was visiting. Naruto always thought the constantly angry demon wasn't the type to visit, so he concluded Yusuke or Kurama black mailed him. Said demons were there too. Yusuke was casually leaning against the kitchen counter. The more reserved Kurama was sitting on a chair.

Yusuke had moved in with Kurama when it became obvious that his mother couldn't take care of Naruto. It was a good thing that Kurama had already moved out of his mother's home. (Yusuke had a vague suspicion that Kurama might have been just a little jealous of having his mother taken away from him, even if it was just a small part.) Naruto had come home looking like he had been in a brawl and his clothes were stiff, as if they were wet and then dried. He also brought home a rather thick book.

Yusuke shared a look with Kurama and said, "Whatever's fine is fine. You want to do both, right?" Naruto nodded. "All right, Kurama already came up with a suggestion if it came to this. You'll have to be in disguise when you're a shinobi or when you're out killing demons. Which one will it be?" The demon lord paused. "Or you could be in disguise for both."

"Um…I…don't know." Naruto looked confused. He didn't know which one to do it in. There weren't really any cons or pros for each profession, and if there were, they cancelled each other out. He had only taken on a couple of missions before, so would it make more sense to disguise himself when he was out playing shinobi? But, not many people knew he was actually doing those missions and the ones who did more mostly in this room.

Hiei snorted in contempt. The demon didn't like ningen shinobi, that was obvious. The other two ignored him, used to his attitude. The Kurama said calmly, "Want to flip a coin?"

Yusuke pulled out one and said, "Heads it's spirit detective, tails it's shinobi." He flipped it and expertly caught it, flipping it once again and slapped it unto the back of his other hand. "It's heads. Guess you'll be wearing a mask or something when you're out on missions."

Kurama pulled out a metal mask that would cover the bottom part of the blonde's face. Yusuke saw it and took off the pair of sun glasses on his head.

Naruto pushed up the sun glasses, they were a little big on him. "Why do I need the sun glasses?"

"You're eyes stand out," Hiei answered for them. Naruto blinked in surprise. Hiei rarely talked to him. He got a faint feeling the demon didn't much like him.

Yusuke leaned back and inspected him. "It looks kind of…awkward. We'll need a better disguise."

"I feel stupid," Naruto complained with a pout.

"You look like it too."

The blond glared hotly at his older brother, but it only made him look like he was pouting. Yusuke refrained from commenting, but had a small smirk.

"Yusuke," Hiei suddenly said. The demon lord looked at him curiously. "I heard rumors that Yomi was getting upset with you."

"That guy never liked me, anyway," Yusuke said carelessly with a wave of his hand. "I only visited once and that was to tell him I was the new king, remember?"

"King Yomi is most likely upset that you disregard your duties so much," Kurama said. "He worked hard to obtain his position as one of the three kings, you inherited yours. He takes it very seriously."

"It's not as if I didn't have to secure my position," Yusuke said angrily. He didn't like to talk about demon matters with Naruto in the room, but at the moment that wasn't why he was upset. Yusuke hated being king and had never once thought he deserved it or was fit for the position.

Kurama noticed the curious look on Naruto's face and decided the discussion should be held at a later time. "Naruto, you must be tired. Go to bed."

"But-"

Kurama had a small glare and that silenced Naruto immediately. He never saw Kurama angry before. He wasn't right now, but the young blond could tell he was a bit upset. Naruto grudgingly left the room. He hated the fact that Yusuke and Kurama would keep things like that from him. It's not like he hadn't seen blood shed before, but they seemed to think this was something beyond simple killing.

He had no idea that it was.

Naruto knew about death. He had seen it. He had caused some of it. However, he had never before questioned w_hy _someone would kill. He unconsciously thought that demons killed simply for pleasure, that he killed to protect, and that Yusuke killed to protect, too. In his world, there was only either to kill in defense or for pleasure. White and black. The thinking of a child.

* * *

Yusuke sighed and rested his head in his hands. He stared unblinkingly at the table top.

"Do you think he'll break?"

Kurama glanced at him from across the table. Hiei had left hours ago.

"It's necessary."

"He's a kid."

"You can't protect him forever. Besides, he'll learn how to adapt."

"…Do you think he'll hate me?" Yusuke let go of his head and leaned back in his chair. His brown eyes stared at Kurama. They were unfocused, the kitsune noted.

The red head thought about it. "He holds you in high esteem. His image of you will crack."

"I'm not perfect. I'm a demon, what does he expect?" Yusuke said defensively.

"You know how children like to think things in terms of good and evil at that age." Kurama looked out the window. The street lights had turned on. "Usually, a demon would be immediately thought of as evil. To him, you are an exception. He doesn't look pass that."

"Am I evil?" Yusuke asked softly.

"No, my lord, you are not." Kurama smiled gently.

Yusuke sighed. "But I'm not innocent either."

"What demon is?"

"Yukina."

Kurama smiled. "Ah…but she is an exception."

A corner of Yusuke's lips twitched.

Silence.

Yusuke eventually asked, "Do you think he'll hate me?"

Kurama frowned, trying to figure out what the question was asking. He finally answered, "He'll understand once he thinks about it. When he realizes that not all demons are 'evil', he will wonder why you never let him enter that part of your life. After he realizes that he _couldn't_, he'll forgive you. During that time, you'll have to learn to be patient." He stared at the demon lord. "Yusuke, I'm not overly concerned about Naruto. You, however, worry me."

"What?" Yusuke gave him a confused look. His eyes gave him away.

Kurama glared at him. "Don't give me that. I separated myself from the Makai years ago. What is happening to make you think so much?"

Yusuke chose his words carefully and said slowly, "You know there has been a war that is just itching to break out, right?"

With narrowed eyed, Kurama nodded.

"I think…it's going to happen within the next couple of years."

"By who?"

"…I don't know."

Kurama thought about that for a moment. "Hiei will side with Mokuro?" Hiei was, after all, serving under the demon queen. Not only that, he was also her heir. Yusuke had a fragile alliance with Mukuro that could be broken up at any time. They collaborated with Yomi to hunt down any of the demons who illegally left their land or world.

"Maybe."

A tense atmosphere filled the room.

"Why so long?" Kurama finally asked. "Why wouldn't it happen right now?"

"The other two are waiting for something. I think they want to see if one of the three of us will make a mistake. Also…I think Yomi is building up an army." Yusuke silently added, _'And with the amount of time I spend away from my kingdom, it'll most likely be me who messes up.'_

Kurama nodded, satisfied with the answer. For now. Yusuke was still holding something back. The teenager was too easy to read for someone like Kurama, but they _had _lived together for the last couple of years.

Yusuke sighed and wearily rubbed his eyes. "It's times like these that make me regret throwing out my beer."

* * *

End Chapter One

* * *

Okay, end of chapter two. See? A few more things changed in this. I discarded the idea of Naruto becoming a spirit detective. How could he be one if Yusuke is a demon king/lord thingy? It didn't make sense so I took it out of the story.

If some of you are still confused, Naruto is kind of acting like a spirit detective. He protects the shinobi world from the demon world from low class scum, but he doesn't serve under spirit world. His information comes from Yusuke's network and a bit of Mokuro's and Yomi's.

Yusuke's a bit darker in this fic since in this he actually took the throne. He has a bit of self resentment for some of his actions, thought he tried to be as peaceful as possible. In the original story line, he thought up of the Makai Tournament. He will eventually think of it, but the reason why he didn't think of it yet is because Naruto interrupted his thinking process. He was too busy juggling his life with Naruto in the human world and his duties as king and lord in the demon world. Once Naruto becomes a shinobi, Yusuke will have time to think.

In this fic, Kurama wasn't asked to be Yomi's right hand man. Eventually, he will be asked but it would be better for me if that will come later.

Well, for the relationships of Yusuke, Kurama, and Hiei, what do you, the reader, think? They didn't seem very close during the whole Makai thing, but they _were _a bit worried for each other…I think. I need to fit in Kuwabara somewhere, but it'll probably be next chapter. He'll be like an uncle figure for Naruto, I guess.

Any questions?

Reviews…would be nice.


	3. Chapter Two: Meet Childhood

Ok, sorry it took me so long, but I had to find my inspiration and to get back on track. Er…Still not inspired but that's ok!

This chapter is pretty worthless…it's just snap shots of Naruto's childhood with Yusuke. Maybe I'll do one for Yusuke later?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Yu Yu Hakusho.

* * *

Meeting of Importance

By: Akki no Tama

Chapter Two: Meet Childhood

* * *

Five year old Naruto stared at the orange haired weirdo in front of him.

"Alright, you can call me Uncle Kazuma!" The man gave him a wide grin as he knelt on the ground to be on eye level.

"…Where's 'nii-san?" the blond demanded, crossing his chubby, child arms. A pout made its way on his face.

"He's…um…" The man fumbled. _'Is the kid supposed to know about the Makai…?'_

"Where's Yusuke?" A touch of anger and…was that fear?

"He's gone away for-"

"He left me?" Tears began to form in those impossibly blue eyes. The lower lip, belonging to the same face, gave an almighty tremble.

"Well, yeah," Kuwabara said, not noticing the reaction and unknowingly adding to the boy's fear. "He's really busy and-"

He was interrupted for the second time when Naruto gave a wail and began to cry.

"Oh, whoa, wait! What's wrong with you?" _'Kids are weird…'_

When Kuwabara tried to touch Naruto, the blond jerked away and ran to the bathroom, locking the door. Kuwabara tried to talk to the child but every time he tried, his voice was drowned out by the wails.

This was the scene Yusuke walked into three hours later.

Hurriedly shoving his friend away from the door, Yusuke asked, voice raised to be heard over the noise, "Naruto? What's wrong with you?"

The wailing stopped to be replacing by sniffling.

"Naruto…? It's me, Yusuke! Are you ok?"

Next thing the demon lord knew, he had an armful of a sobbing child. He caught words like, "left me" and "he said" and "gone." Hugging the blond close, Yusuke glared at Kuwabara.

Yusuke left the house carrying a crying and clinging blond.

_'Never leaving him alone with Naruto again.' _Another thought made its way into Yusuke's mind. _'Huh. I almost forgot about my daily beating with Kuwabara. Man, it feels like old times.'

* * *

_

Six year old Naruto glared at the orange haired teen. Said teen was occupying _his _older brother's attention. The blond sat with his arms crossed and with a pout on the couch.

Yusuke gave Kuwabara a wide grin as he bashed his virtual opponent. "Ha! Twenty three points to me!"

"I'll beat you, Urameshi!"

"You wish!" Yusuke furiously and frantically pushed the buttons on his controller.

Not to be out done, Kuwabara did the same.

Naruto didn't like this at all. Yusuke was supposed to be _his_ brother. Stupid orange haired…orange haired…orange haired poo-poo-head! Naruto nodded with his mental insult. Yes, that would do for now.

The small blond glared at Kuwabara. He will win back his brother, for sure!

Of course, this wasn't the first time. Naruto had been dragged over to Kuwabara's house before. Yusuke said he had wanted them to get to know each other. Naruto still remembered when Kuwabara had "tricked" him into believing Yusuke had left him.

Frankly, Naruto didn't like him. He was ugly and stupid. And had tricked him. And took his brother's attention away from him. He was stealing his brother away, and Naruto definitely wasn't going to let that happen!

In short, Naruto was jealous of Kuwabara Kazuma, which fueled most of his dislike for the teen.

Hiei would be laughing hysterically if he ever knew.

* * *

"Time for bed, little man," Yusuke said with a grin, gently pushing his charge to his bedroom.

"I don't wanna!" his charge, Naruto, complained. However, he yawned, ruining whatever argument he might have had.

Kurama, sitting on the couch, smiled at the small boy. "Naruto, you have school tomorrow."

"All right," he agreed sulkily.

The spirit detective led the boy to his bed and tucked him in. "You know, if anyone saw me doing this, it would shred my punk reputation into little pieces."

"But you won't stop 'cause you love me," Naruto said cheekily. The other smirked and lightly hit him on the head. "Hey, 'nii-san, read me a story."

"I need to get ready for my night job in an hour."

"…Please?"

A smile. "Ok." The brunette walked over to the small book self on the side of the room and took out a big book of fairy tales he had bought (with Kuwabara's recommendation) when he had adopted Naruto. "How about…" He opened the book and it landed on a story. "The Ugly Duckling?"

"What's it about? You never read it to me before."

"There was once an ugly duckling…"

"Why was he ugly?"

Another light hit on the head. "Don't matter. He was so ugly that none of the other creatures around the pond wanted to play with him. In fact, they all made fun of him."

"How mean!"

A roll of the eyes. "Yeah, anyway…so he was so ashamed of how he looked, he ran away."

"Did he have another place to stay?"

"Stop interrupting me," Yusuke said with a mock glare. Naruto replied by sticking his tongue out at him, but he didn't interrupt again. "For a while, he lived by himself at another pond. One day, these beautiful birds came flying down, landing in his pond. They were called swans. The ugly duckling was ashamed to be near such beauty that he hid his face. One of the swans went to him and asked him, 'Why are you hiding your face?'

"The ugly duckling peeked under his wing and replied, 'Because I am so ugly, no one would wish to look upon my face.'

"'Why say such a thing?' the swan asked. 'Just look at your reflection and you would know that you are as beautiful as everyone else!' The ugly duckling looked at his image and realized the swan was right, he was now a beautiful swan.

"…So the little ugly duckling was now a beautiful swan loved by everyone," Yusuke finished as he closed the book, looking at the blond.

Said blond snuggled deeper in his blankets and crossed his arms with a pout. He stared at Yusuke.

"What's wrong?" the half demon asked.

"…I don't like it."

"Don't like what?" the older one asked.

"The story."

"Why?"

"…Because it's true."

* * *

Yusuke quietly closed the door behind him and leaned against it, a sigh escaped his lips.

Kurama, who glanced when he heard the sigh, frowned at the look his fellow demon held. "What's wrong, Yusuke?" he asked softly.

"I read him the Ugly Duckling." Yusuke stood up and went to his room to dress. He had a new job as a bouncer at a local club, a club he only went to when he was sure Naruto wasn't following him.

When the eighteen year old walked outside, Kurama asked him a question. "What happened?"

"He told me he didn't like the story, I asked him why. He replied that it was because it was true."

"…I often forget his life experiences."

"Me too. Times like these makes me want to be like most demons and kill a couple of humans. Particularly those leaf shinobi…" A growl followed the statement.

"You know you can't. You're job centers around protecting them."

"But not my life," was the reply.

The door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

Yusuke got out of his car, slamming the door shut.

As he walked to the club, he cursed whoever wrote The Ugly Duckling. It was a stupid and shallow story anyway. He remembered thinking the same thing when he was first read it in school. '_At least 'kaa-san never bothered to read crap like that to me. Plus one for her drinking,' _the brunette thought ruefully.

"Hey, Urameshi, you're ten minutes late!" The bartender scowled at him.

"Fuck off, old man," Yusuke replied with equal venom.

"Why were you late, man?" one of the regular customers asked.

Yusuke lied, "Had to go somewhere first." He liked his reputation very much, thank you. No need to know he was late because he was reading a bedtime story.

Ryo, the customer who asked Yusuke the question, frowned. "At this rate, you're gonna get fired." He took a sip from his chocolate martini.

"The boss likes me," Yusuke said with a shrug. "Plus, I could find another job."

"A guy like you…" Ryo started, then shook his head. He pulled out a cigarette packet and offered it to Yusuke, who had taken a seat next to him. "Wanna smoke?"

"You know I've been trying to cut back over the years."

"It's just one."

The detective took one, put it in his mouth, and patted his pockets for a lighter. "Hey…"

Ryo laughed and flicked his lighter open.

* * *

When he got home, he was received with a, "You smell like smoke and alcohol."

"I don't need you lecturing me, K'rama," Yusuke said, striding pass the kitsune. He walked inside the bathroom and closed the door. He heaved a heavy sigh and placed his hands on the sink, bowing his head. After a moment his proceeded to brush his teeth and washed his face.

'_What was the fox doing up so late, anyway?' _Yusuke scowled at his reflection. He was not up to talking at the moment.

The demon lord got out and when he was about to enter his bedroom, he heard Kurama say softly without looking up from his book, "Goodnight, Lord Toushin."

Damn the kitsune.

* * *

"Do I have to go to school today?" Naruto whined the next morning. He didn't notice Yusuke tense up, his hands tightening around his coffee mug, or Kurama glancing at the brunette. "It's so boring."

"Hurry before you're late, Naruto-kun," the fox said, ignoring what was said. He handed him his backpack and pushed him gently outside.

"Bye, 'nii-san! Bye onii-san!" Naruto waved. Kurama smiled and Yusuke gave a slugish wave, looking at the table he sat in front of. _'That's weird. Oh well, he probably didn't have enough coffee yet,' _Naruto mused.

The red head sat in front of the demon lord. And waited.

Yusuke avoided his eyes.

Finally, when it became clear the other would not start the conversation, the kitsune said in his soft, calm tone, "You smoked and drank last night."

No reply.

"You stopped when you adopted Naruto-kun. You no longer drank alcohol, smoked, or did drugs."

Silence.

"Because of Naruto-kun, you stopped. For no one else, not for your mother, not for your friends, not for yourself…not even for Keiko."

Smash!

The red head smoothly dodged the coffee mug thrown at him, not even a glance was thrown at the wall with the dripping black liquid.

"Don't you _ever-_"

"Yusuke, don't you realize-"

Angry brown eyes glared at his friend. "Shut up."

"…Yes, Lord Toushin."

The red head got up, supposedly finding the argument not worth pursuing. He left the house to go to his job at the laboratory.

_'Damn,' _the brunette thought. He only called Yusuke "Lord Toushin" whenever he was upset or teasing with the young lord. No doubt which one it was right now.

The sound of fluttering wings brought him out of his thoughts. He turned his head to the window. A small demon was staring at him, then quickly brought down its gaze in respect. So it was a messenger demon.

Yusuke stood up and opened the window. "What?" he growled out.

"Lord Toushin is needed back in the Makai."

"…Very well."

* * *

"Tadaime!" Naruto yelled out energetically.

Kurama glanced at him before returning his gaze back to dinner. The blond frowned. Something was wrong. He looked at the dinner table and picked up the note on the table. "Did 'nii-san have to go back?" Naruto finally asked.

"For three weeks."

Naruto sighed. He didn't understand everything that went on in the Makai, their concepts, way of life, or what his older brother had to deal with, but he accepted it. That didn't mean he had to like it.

"That long?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Hmm…"

Kurama was chopping the vegetable awfully loud and hard in the small boy's opinion. He probably didn't like it either…but he never seemed to be bothered by it before.

"Is it something really dangerous?" the blond asked worriedly.

"Nothing you should worry about."

The blond looked at the floor. He didn't notice the red head giving him a glance. "He won't die on you."

"What?" Naruto blurted out, surprised. Kurama was rarely ever direct about things. The fox very much preferred to go about the subtle, sly way.

Kitsune.

"Yusuke won't leave you," Kurama said with conviction. "He won't die. I think he just went to the Makai to skip dinner, it _was _his turn to cook tonight."

That caused a surprised giggle to escape from Naruto. "Ok, onii-san," Naruto said with a wide grin.

"By the way, Hiei might be dropping by for dessert."

"Hiei-onii-san," the blond said with a smirk that mimicked Yusuke's, "is obsessed about ice cream."

Kurama chuckled in that deep voice of his.

* * *

"You know…" Naruto began when he started to dig into his ice cream. Kurama looked at him with his always calm eyes. Hiei didn't even look up. "We have a weird family."

"Ah…how so?" the red head asked.

"How come I don't have an okaa-san?"

Kurama put down his spoon. He shared a quick glance with Hiei, who immediately looked at his dessert again. He never did like talking about these sort of issues. Too many memories that were better left buried.

"You were adopted, Naruto-kun," Kurama said with a calm smile.

"I know, but how come 'nii-san doesn't have a girlfriend?" Naruto mused out loud pushing his ice cream around with his spoon. "Or you? Aren't girls attracted to you? I mean, sure you look kinda girly too but…I thought girls liked that sort of thing?"

He didn't notice Hiei tensing (from repressing his laughter and guilt) or Kurama's eyes darting to the door, as if afraid someone would walk through it.

"Naruto-kun…please do not say anything of the sort in front of Yusuke."

"Why?" Naruto asked. He looked at Hiei when the red head didn't answer, just stared with blank eyes. Hiei stopped eating, which was strange, and was looking at Naruto, too.

"It is not a request, but an order. Never mention it again." A firm command, there was no arguing it, this Naruto understood. He wasn't going to ask, but…

He _did _want to know…"_Why_?" the blond asked, confused. What was wrong, he didn't understand. Why did they look at him so carefully, without emotion? He _hated _that look. Had he done something wrong?

"…When you're older, you may ask."

Naruto chewed on his bottom lip. Even after three years of living with them, he still felt insecure about things. Rationally he knew he wasn't ever going to be forced out, but a small part of him was always wondering. Still, even after all this time, he knew that what he really knew of his guardians was little. They guarded their pasts like a dragon would his treasure and only gave him vague outlines about their "other jobs," as Naruto labeled the jobs concerning demons.

_'Still,'_ Naruto decided, _'I don't care. Their pasts don't matter. What _does _matter is their personality and actions right _now_. I'm not gonna give up what I have right now just because of something that happened a really long time ago.'

* * *

_

"He asked me why you didn't have a girlfriend, Yusuke," Kurama stated blandly when the brunette arrived home.

The brunette froze, then forced himself to relax. "And so?"

"I told him not to ask."

Yusuke didn't reply but shed the outer part of his robes. He always came home with a different set of clothes after a trip to the Makai.

"…What's your problem, Yusuke?"

Ignored.

"You're not setting a good example."

Silence.

"Do not start this again. After all this time, I would have expected you to be able to trust us."

"It's not you, alright? I'm just having some issues."

Kurama paused. "Are you finally realizing how hard it will be to raise a child?"

"…It's complicated."

"You _did _adopt him on a whim, Yusuke. You're used to doing things your way without interference, except for when someone would tell you to not do something but make no real effort in stopping you. After you adopted Naruto-kun you realized you had to make sacrifices, are you now saying that you do not wish to?" Kurama settled his cool, collected eyes at him in a stern stare.

"No! It's not like that," Yusuke immediately said. "It's just…hard. Don't you feel the same way?"

"Yes. It surprised me when you took him in. My first thought was that you would make an unsuitable parent, even though you seemed fond of the child. The second thought to cross my mind was how the other demons would react to the news. But, after you decided to move in with me, I finally saw how you interacted with each other and left it alone."

"It's been three years, though," Yusuke began. "I should be over this. Why do I have these second thoughts? I dunno…maybe I shouldn't have taken him in, he needs someone here for him at all times. I always have to make trips to the Makai."

"Half the time you're over there, partly the reason why you didn't have these thoughts before now. However, even though I am the one who mainly takes care of Naruto-kun's needs, you are the one he cares about and needs most."

"How? Shouldn't he like you more? You're the one who's always here."

"You were the one to offer him sanctuary. You are the one who he needs and gets the most emotional support. To him, the amount of time you spend with him isn't as important as the fact that you _do _spend time with him."

Yusuke sighed and ran a hand through his long hair.

"Right now, it is not about Naruto-kun."

"What? But isn't this about how much he needs me? I mean, I can't just abandon him! I-"

"Please do not interrupt me," Kurama cut in calmly. "Right now, it is about you. The question isn't whether Naruto-kun needs you, but if you are ready to accept the responsibility of raising him."

"…If I'm not?"

"Then we send him to an orphanage-"

"No."

"-or," Kurama said as if the demon lord did not interrupt him, "give him to Kuwabara. Did you know he proposed to Yukina four days ago? She accepted, and I think Naruto-kun will do well in their care."

"I…" Yusuke looked at the floor. "Why can't he stay with you? He's likes you more than them."

"If you are not willing to take care of the child, I suspect you will want to move out. I can not care for a child by myself, no matter how fond I am of him."

A pause. "I…it's just that…" The brunette made a frustrated sound, pulling on a strand of his hair. "He's important to me…but…I gave up a lot for him. Like you said, not even f-for…_her _did I stop drinking…I just miss how I didn't have to worry about things like what time I have to get home or if I'm forgetting to go to a school play or even what I _say_."

"…So what is your answer?"

"…I-"

The sound of a door opening and then a cry of, "You're home!" was the only warning before Yusuke had a hand full of a certain blond.

"Hey, shouldn't you be asleep?" A smile unknowingly made its way on Yusuke's lips.

"I heard you," Naruto's muffled voice said. He had his head pressed against the teen's chest.

"Well, you need to go back to sleep. Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Awww! Can't I stay up a little longer?"

Yusuke smirked but didn't bother to reply. He carried the blond back to bed. After a few moments, he came back out.

"Kurama?"

"Yes, Yusuke?"

"I miss it, but I'd miss him more."

* * *

Kurama didn't know what to think. Should he be angry or exasperated?

He laughed instead.

"What's for dinner?" Naruto asked when he came inside. Muddy foot steps followed him.

"You have to take a bath first," came Kurama's amused reply.

"But I hate baths!"

"What's for din-you're taking a bath." Yusuke quietly closed the door behind him.

Naruto's face immediately brightened. "You're back, 'nii-san!"

"Of course," the other said. A smirk formed. "You're still taking that bath."

The blond pouted. "Do I have to?"

Yusuke took a good look at the boy before him. The blond had mud splattered on his overalls, twigs on his hair, and dirt under his nails. Wait-was that a worm sticking out of his pocket?

He smirked. "Nah, you don't look _that_ bad-"

Kurama politely coughed behind a hand.

"On second thought, go take that bath."

Naruto pouted but went to the bathroom. The sound of running water signaled them of the start of his bath.

Yusuke undid his sash on the way to his room. He removed the heavy and expensive clothing from his person. The robes fell unceremoniously to the floor, being replaced by black drawstring pants and a white sleeveless shirt. Yusuke exited the room and sat tiredly at the dinner table, laying his head on it.

"Oh no, it's your turn to cook dinner," Kurama said with an amused smirk.

"Can't we order take out?" Yusuke whined.

The red head almost snorted, almost.

Hiei, however, actually did. "How unbefitting for a demon, especially one of your station, rank, and power."

"Shut up, Hiei," Yusuke grumbled. "What are you-it better not be another report."

"…I was hungry."

Yusuke lazily got up and went to the refrigerator. He removed some food and began to chop some carrots.

Kurama suppressed a smile. Honestly, the demon lord acted as if cooking was the most horrible act imaginable. He frowned thoughtfully. When Yusuke moved in with the blond energy ball, he had hid his ability to cook for three months before Kurama found out by accident from Kuwabara. The red head made sure to not do chores for half a year, forcing the dark haired teen to do his own cooking and cleaning. Of course, Yusuke had not cleaned the house for about a month before he couldn't stand the filth anymore.

His thoughts turned to the blond. Naruto had changed the way things worked around here. Kurama knew Yusuke wasn't one to think far ahead in the future and so the task of worrying about how the blond would receive proper care fell to him. That meant nutritional foods (no, ramen did not count, as he had told Naruto so many times) to clothes. Orange was a horrid color, in Kurama's opinion. Yusuke, who had absolutely no fashion sense, (he had people back in the Makai make clothes for him when he was ruling his section of the demon world, then he had Botan or Kurama pick clothes for him to wear in the living world) was inclined to agree with him.

On the occasions when both Yusuke and Kurama were busy, Naruto was taken care of by Yukina and Botan. Yusuke did not trust the blond in the care of Kuwabara unless Shizuru was with the orange haired teen. If, for some reason, everyone was busy, Hiei took care of the child. It wasn't as if Yusuke or Kurama didn't trust the short demon, it was the fact Hiei disliked children. You could even say hated, but strangely the demon tolerated (Yusuke dared to even say "liked," but that was just Yusuke) the blond child. That didn't mean he was willing to care for the child by himself.

Kurama would freely admit to his friends he liked Naruto. The boy was lovable, if a bit excitable like all children, but he had a pleasant feeling around him. The only thing that put Kurama on guard was the feeling of the Kyuubi. The red head was suspicious, despite Yusuke's reassurances (the detective had always been a good judge of character, if a bit too trusting for a demon), of the blond for about a week before accepting the blond. It wasn't that he was paranoid, just careful. Perhaps he might have even been a little afraid. The Kyubi was, after all, a nine-tailed fox. Kurama himself had only five tails, one of them had been given up so that he could transfer to a new body. Another thing was that the other fox was of fire while the red head was attuned to plants.

Though Kurama could still feel the Kyuubi a little bit, being sensitive to other foxes (in case they dared to enter _his _territory), it was small and insignificant. The seal on the blond's stomach was truly remarkable, worthy of praise from even Hiei, no matter how indirect it was. Kurama came to like Naruto like a distant cousin. Besides, the Kyuubi would not stand a chance against Yusuke, never mind the added power of Hiei, Kurama, and even Kuwabara.

"What's for dinner?" Naruto asked as he came up to Kurama.

"Yusuke's cooking, so who knows."

"Hey!"

"I remember the last time you cooked, 'nii-san. It wasn't pretty."

"It was edible, what does it matter if it tasted awful?" Hiei joined in with a smirk.

Yusuke rolled his eyes.

As Kurama ate dinner, he began thinking again.

Taking the child in was harder than the kitsune anticipated. It was also very stressful. The blond had nightmares the first month, though it diminished over time. Still, occasionally he would still have them. Naruto felt weak because he had nightmares. Yusuke assured him it was normal for someone like him, the demon lord even admitted after a particularly bad night that he had them. Naruto didn't have to know that Hiei had wards that prevented Yusuke from waking anyone up should he have one. It was rare that they were needed, but who had ever said being a demon lord was easy?

Sometimes the red head felt sorry for the half demon. Yusuke had not wanted the responsibility of taking care of a portion of the Makai, but if he had not, war would have ensued from those that wanted the position. No one could really deny the throne to the blood heir, after all. On his first week as a lord, Yusuke noticed how there was constant fighting between the Spirit World and the Demon World. He tried his best to control these disputes, but it often ended up in bloodshed. Still, there was a strange sort of peace that fell over the Makai.

He wondered how long the peace would last.

* * *

Hiei could not believe Kurama would do this to him. Yusuke he would readily believe, but Kurama too?

He cast a disdainful look to the back of the blond child he was looking after. Said blond was far too busy reading that awful shinobi book of his to notice the demon.

He silently cursed Yusuke's demon lord duties, Kurama's mission that had to deal with a ghost that would _not _die, that oaf-Kuwabara-(he was denying the fact that the moron would become his brother-in-law) being busy with the wedding arrangements, and his sister's plans to get the wedding dress. Thus leaving him, alone, with the blond ball of energy.

He cursed the three worlds.

"Hiei-onii-san-" oh how he hated being called that by a human, no matter who it was, "what does… 'jutsu' mean?"

Gritting his teeth, he replied as calmly as he could, "It is what shinobi call a technique that uses spirit energy."

A moment later, "What's 'chakra'?"

"It's what _shinobi_," a sneer for the word, "call spirit energy."

"Why don't they just call it that?"

"Because shinobi are-" Hiei bit his tongue, remembering how Kurama reacted when he used certain "words" in front of the child. Yusuke had commented that he would learn them anyway. Kurama had actually glared at him. "Just do not."

"Why?"

"I do not know."

"But aren't you like, centuries old?"

Hiei glared at the child, which caused the boy to turn back to his book.

The demon stifled a sigh. It wasn't as if he hated or disliked the child. He just did not handle children well. He glanced at Naruto. The boy was better than most children, Hiei admitted silently, but he was still too loud.

Still, he would dare to even say he…li-_tolerated_ the boy. Tolerated, of course. The boy did contain Kyuubi, he reasoned, though he showed no signs of it besides the scars and the faint shimmer of his aura. Hiei mourned the loss of power that could rival his own, but perhaps the child would grow to control the fox, unlikely as it was.

Hiei had once suggested to Yusuke that the Jagan could be used to communicate with Kyuubi. Yusuke had cautiously agreed. After one visit, Kyuubi became very humble towards the young demon lord. After all, a demon could always appreciate power. The fox still resented his prison and could not contact the blond unless the child initiated it, (which Naruto was terrified to do, despite Yusuke's protection) so the kitsune became very bored. Every once in a while, from sheer guilt Hiei suspected, Naruto would send the fox some of his memories, but still refused to talk with him.

Hiei sneered at his cowardice. Humans were certainly weak.

Let the three worlds end before he even considers the thought of liking a human. Yusuke did not count, since he turned out to be a demon after all (Hiei would rather not think of his human blood). And Kuwabara…well, he tolerated him to a certain extent and _respected _him, but he didn't _like _him. Still, he supposed he'd have to learn even more patience and tolerance if that oaf was going to marry Yukina. His sister deserved better.

Yes, humans were weak.

Hiei didn't notice that whenever the blond moved,he wouldunconsciously scan the area for danger.

* * *

Kuwabara was contented. He was delighted. He was delirious with happiness. He could not believe that Yukina agreed to marry him. He knew he wasn't the best looking person, nor the smartest, not even the strongest, but she had picked him over all others. The good guys really do come out on top.

_'Sometimes,'_ he thought.

His mind wondered over to Yusuke and…Keiko. He felt bad for his friend and rival, though he long ago accepted that the demon lord was out of his league when it came to strength. Video games, on the other hand…

Jerking out of thoughts incase it ruined his good mood, he went to the bakery shop.

He hummed as he entered the shop, a swift glance around the shop.

"May I help you, sir?" the person behind the cashier asked politely.

"Yeah. I want to buy a wedding cake…"

* * *

"Yay! A wedding!" Naruto cheered happily. His face quickly changed, though, when he remembered who's wedding it was. _'Him! But…maybe now he'll be too busy and won't have enough time to take Yusuke away from me!'_

"Damn, a wedding," Yusuke muttered, not loud enough for the enthusiastic blond to notice. His fingers played with the unopened invitation. "That means sake, people, and…_dancing_."

Kurama chuckled softly, keen ears picking the words up with ease. Skillful fingers quickly and quietly picked up the invitation before Yusuke even noticed the red head had moved.

"He wants you to be the best man," the kitsune said thoughtfully after he read part of it. "And Yukina wrote that she wants one of us to tell Hiei to be the one to walk her down the aisle, since she doesn't know where he is." He skimmed down the letter until he came to a certain spot. "It appears Yukina wishes to invite…the koorime people she lived with."

Kurama and Yusuke shared a look.

"Why do you guys look so nervous?" Naruto asked, holding himself up with one hand. An upside down smile appeared on his face. "Are they demons? I get to meet more demons?"

"You'll get hurt if you continue doing that," the red head said absently as he picked up the small boy and set him properly on the ground. The blond pouted.

Yusuke sighed. "You want to go to the Makai or do I go?"

Naruto climbed on the counter top, crawling to a jar.

"I'll go. I need the collect a few plants," Kurama said, running a hand through his long hair.

"What sort of plants?" Naruto asked as he reached for a cookie in the cookie jar.

"Plants that would tell me when a little boy is trying to take a cookie before dinner," Kurama said with a smile, picking the blond up before he could grab a cookie. He settled the eight year old on his lap. "Do I need to cut off your hands, kit?"

"I think he's taking after you," Yusuke said with a smirk. "Behold, Naruto, master thief at the age of eight."

"Don't be ridiculous, stealing a cookie is nothing to brag about."

"It is when you're around," Naruto muttered, arms crossed and a pout on his lips.

* * *

"Wake up!"

Naruto jerked abruptly in his bed and groggily sat up. He struggled to open his eyes and stared with glazed eyes at Yusuke, who was glaring at him. The blond mumbled, "Wha' ish it?"

The nineteen year old did not look impressed and held something out with one arm. It was a suit case. "You're late for school."

Naruto was instantly awake. "What? What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up sooner!" He hastily got out of bed and looked for his clothes. Luckily the school he went to didn't require uniforms.

The darker haired boy rolled his eyes with a soft playing on his lips. He dropped the case next to the door and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. He made his way downstairs and calmly sat down at the table where a certain red head was making breakfast.

"Good morning," Kurama said pleasantly. "Is Naruto-kun awake yet?"

"Yeah, he's getting ready for school right now." Yusuke stifled a yawn and then drank some orange juice as Kurama laid a plate of pancakes in front of him. "Put a pop tart in the toaster for him, he'll be grabbing that as he runs out of the house."

The red head glanced at the clock. "Ah…He's running later than usual. Do you think he'll make it to school on time?" He said this as he put a pop tart in the toaster.

The top spirit detective didn't even look up as he asked, "How long does he have?"

"Five minutes."

"Plenty of time to burst through the door as the bell rings."

Kurama chuckled a little.

Naruto came rushing into the kitchen and gulped down a glass of orange juice. He slammed the glass on the table and grabbed the pop tart when it jumped in the air. "Morning! Bye, 'nii-san! Bye onii-san!" The eight year old threw over his shoulder as he ran out of the door, stuffing the pop tart into his mouth.

"You know…" Yusuke began as he poured syrup over his pancakes. "I don't think it's very healthy for him to be wearing black all the time."

"It's just a phase, I'm sure," Kurama said calmly as he sat down. "Hiei wears black."

"…"

"I'll go buy him some new clothes after breakfast."

* * *

Naruto ran into the classroom just as the bell rang.

"Take your seat, Naruto," The teacher said pleasantly, though a little nervously.

Ever since Naruto could remember, the teachers and most of the student population had been a little afraid of him. Or, to be more precise, of his older brother, Yusuke. Even after all these years, Yusuke was still known as the type of guy to not hang around with, dangerous and bad to the core. Some of the older kids of his school could still remember when Yusuke would beat the shit out of them for one reason or another, never mind the fact he stopped mysteriously a few years ago.

There were even some rumors that Yusuke killed a teacher once for failing him, which, of course, was preposterous. Yusuke failed _all _of his classes before he dropped out, he wouldn't have singled one teacher out.

Naruto always thought it was amazing he even got a job at all, but apparently he had some pretty good connections when he was still a bad ass gangster. Lots of people owed him something…or was too scared to deny him something. Naruto would even go as far as to think Yusuke just might have connections in the yakuza.

Anyway, none of this helped Naruto make friends. Most tended to avoid him and steered away from him. Lots of girls thought he was kind of cute in that baby brother kind of way but also avoided him since they were scared of his brother. So, basically Naruto was sort of a loner. He had people to talk to in class but no real friends. He ate alone at lunch on the roof top. Not even the gangsters wanted to be friends with him, but they were more awed than scared.

Naruto sat down with a sigh. Oh well, it was better than Konoha any day.

"Today, we will be looking at adding three digit numbers," The teacher began.

Naruto tuned him out, already knowing the material. If you had Yusuke as an older brother, that's one thing, but if you also had Kurama as an older brother figure, you would be beyond the normal school curriculum. Naruto sighed again. He was at least two years ahead of his class mates.

The teacher handed out worksheets for everybody. Naruto finished it in half the amount of time it took his class mates. He spent the rest of the period reading a book he brought along for cases just like this one.

* * *

"…That color is too bright."

"Perhaps. What about this one?"

"I guess…do I have to stay here and pick out clothes for Naruto?"

"You were the one complaining about his clothes."

Yusuke groaned and leaned against the wall. Kurama smiled at his expense. Yusuke looked around the clothing store. How the red head managed to drag him into this surprised even him. Yusuke was known to not care what he wore as long as it fit and was clean. But he didn't want to be blamed when Kurama came home with those "proper" (as the red head would say) and "nerdy" (as the brunette would say) clothes.

Kurama looked at a rack with a Chinese styled outfit. It looked something more like what Kurama himself would wear.

"Come on, he's only eight. Let's just get him some jeans, shorts, and a couple of t-shirts," Yusuke said with a roll of his eyes.

"I suppose that would work…hmm…What about this?"

"Kurama, if you buy that for him, I'll just blast it into little pieces."

"It's not that bad."

"Kurama, children are cruel little monsters with no sense of right or wrong. They'll all laugh at him. That has got to be the worst article of clothing out there."

Kurama just smiled and put the orange jump suit back on the rack.

* * *

Naruto sighed and slumped on the couch when he got home, not even bothering to even say, "Tadaime."

Yusuke raised an eyebrow at the blond and turned off the television. He took one last drink of his soda and put the can down. He had to quit alcohol when he had adopted Naruto. A small part of him missed what he had to give up because of the blond but he was glad he had the kid in his life. He turned to Naruto and said, "Alright, what's up, little man?"

"You know the whole ninja thing…I don't know…I've been having second thoughts…" Naruto said as he chewed his lower lip. "It bothered me around lunch time. It just hit me, you won't be there…or Kurama…not even _Kuwabara_…" He thought about it. "Or Hiei…"

"Is that what's bothering you?" Yusuke laughed a little. He ruffled the blonde's hair. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll make lots of new friends."

Naruto looked at him, doubt obviously in his eyes.

"Ok…_some _friends," Yusuke corrected. "Look, I know this ain't gonna be easy." Yusuke started to frown. He muttered under his breath. "I would have liked to blow that whole village up…"

"But," Naruto said, ignoring his older brother's mutter, "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger, right?"

"Yep!" The older teen said, forgetting his frown. "Besides, it's three years from now. That's a long time for a human. You shouldn't be worrying about it. You should be worrying about the training I'm going to put you through." Here, Yusuke smirked.

Naruto groaned.

* * *

Naruto sneaked a glance at Hiei.

To him, the short demon (thought Naruto really shouldn't be thinking that) was a mystery. Sure, the black clad demon had baby sat him a couple of times (two, if he was counting correctly) but he didn't know him.

Hiei rarely visited, and when he did, it was only for an hour or two. During those times, he either sat silently while observing them or exchanging a few words with Kurama and Yusuke. He rarely spoke to the blond at all. When he did pay attention, Naruto was distinctly uncomfortable with those piercing red eyes staring at him.

Yusuke and Kurama didn't know this, they thought Naruto liked Hiei. Naruto did, after all, call him "onii-san." They knew it was to annoy Hiei, but didn't know that was the only reason. Naruto had a small, tiny grudge against Hiei. To him, Hiei's presence meant Yusuke could be leaving. Meaning, leaving _him_. It happened enough times that Naruto was wary.

Still, Naruto didn't know him. He was practically a stranger, so Naruto couldn't really hate him.

A small imp was banging against the glass window. Yusuke walked over and let the imp in.

Naruto glared at the gray creature. He definitely hated those, though.

* * *

A ten year old Naruto muttered curses under his breath as he trudged through the sand. He had on goggles and a cloth covered the lower part of his face. He squinted as sandy winds swept past him. He angrily wiped his shoulder length hair off his face.

_'Oh that 'nii-san of mine! Survival training? SURVIVAL TRAINING? I knew I shouldn't have decided to become a Shinobi but nooo, I had to honor my dead father's wishes! Stupid, stupid me!' _Were the thoughts of one Uzumaki Naruto. _'Chapter ten of the Shinobi handbook, all ninja should have a decent understanding of survival in all elements. Stupid book, what does it know? They dumped me in the middle of the desert with a canteen of water, some rations, and the clothes on my back and expect me to survive? Ugh…humph…this stupid test won't end until I find the "Sand Village." Why would anyone want to build a village in the middle of the desert?'_

Naruto glared at everything around him. He hissed in anger and continued the direction he was going, hoping it was the right direction. After a few hours of walking and struggling against the wind, he noticed the sand storm wasn't as strong anymore. After another hour, there no longer was a sand storm.

The blond sighed in relief and saw someone in the corner of his eye. He turned to curiously look at the person. It looked like a shinobi and he had training three kids. The kids were probably shinobi too. Naruto smiled. Finally, some good luck. Maybe they would be able to help him.

He walked up to them and said politely, "Excuse me, but do you know where the Sand Village is?"

The man eyed him critically. After a moment of staring, he finally said something. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm lost," Naruto said calmly. By now, the other children-who looked to be around thirteen-stopped what they were doing (sparing) and looked at him curiously.

"Were you with someone?" one of the children asked. "You look too young to be traveling alone." She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, we got separated. We were traveling to the Sand when that sand storm hit us." The blond eyed each of them carefully.

The jounin was wearing the standard attire for a sand shinobi. The children wore something unique to each of them. The girl who spoke earlier was a dark skinned brunette who wore beige pants, a white shirt, and the ninja sandals. She wore gold bracelets, gold necklaces, gold earrings, and gold rings. Naruto quickly looked away. The sun bounced off the jewelry and blinded him.

Her male teammate was tan but not as dark as her. His pale, long hair reached around his waist in a braid. Personally, Naruto thought it was rather girly. He wore a light colored cloth that acted like a coat or robe that covered his body from view. Naruto could still see his shoes, which were not open toed.

The last member of their team…Naruto stared at him the longest. He looked like a mummy. He wore a wide brimmed hat which covered the top part of his head and shadowed his face, which only showed his mouth and chin. His arms, legs, and body were wrapped in bandages. Even his feet since he wore no shoes. He did wear a poncho though.

Each wore a headband with their village signature somewhere.

"Why were you traveling to our village?" the jounin asked.

"I was just traveling, that's all."

"Do you have passports?" he asked suspiciously.

"Er…I think my brother has those…"

A pause.

"Very well. It's that way," the jounin finally said as he gestured to a direction.

Naruto nodded and said his thanks, then left. He walked, not wanting anyone to think he was a shinobi spy or something equally ridiculous. After two hours worth of walking, which Naruto drank all of his water and ate half of his rations, he arrived to the village. The guards let him in without much hassle, they didn't really think a child could do much harm anyway.

* * *

Yusuke, who was on top of a sand dune and hiding behind a rock, peered anxiously through his binoculars.

"Why are you so nervous?" Hiei asked irritably. Yet again, he was dragged into one of these ridiculous outings.

Yusuke looked this way and that, binoculars moving in pace with his head. He sighed and put them down. "I just have an uneasy feeling."

"I told you that this was stupid."

The demon lord rolled his eyes. He picked up a canteen and took a quick swing from it. "Yeah, yeah. You also lectured me about my behavior. Sorry if I zoned out. I think you're hanging out with Botan too much."

Yusuke successfully kept his head on his shoulders.

* * *

Naruto checked his pockets. _'Damn, I don't have any money, how am I supposed to get a bottle of water?'_ Naruto decided to aimlessly wonder around, not really knowing where to go. At some point of his wondering, he saw something strange. Everyone avoided a red haired boy. They cleared a path for him and tried not to touch him. The strangest thing was, they held a look of utmost fear in their eyes whenever they laid eyes on him.

A child, who was playing with a ball, accidentally kicked it too hard. He was only three or so, too young to know anything about danger. And walked right in front of it. He accidentally touched the red headed boy. Naruto realized something was very wrong when the older boy's eyes narrowed in anger.

Using all his speed and agility, he rushed forward and grabbed the boy, leaving the ball behind him. The child gave a surprised yelp. Naruto ducked and rolled, the three year old safely in his arms. When he looked back, he saw a pile of sand and an enraged boy. Since he met Yusuke, he never had to fear anything again, since he knew his older brother would protect him from something he couldn't deal with. This boy made him forget everything but the fear.

Everyone ran away from them, they all knew what was going to happen. The red head raised his hand and the sand followed his movement. Naruto pushed the kid with the ball behind him, who stared with wide, horrified eyes. Naruto shut his eyes and knew he was going to die.

He heard the sand crash, but it wasn't on him.

The blond shakily opened his eyes and he saw a protective Yusuke standing over him, the sand bounding off his hand.

"'Nii-san!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yo," Yusuke said with a grin. He dropped the grin and turned to the red head. "Who, exactly, are you?"

"Gaara of the Desert…and I'll kill you," the red head said with such calm it was creepy.

Yusuke laughed, startling Gaara. "One thing: you're like, what? Nine? Ten? I obviously have more battle experience than you, what could you _possibly_ have to make you think you can beat me?" Yusuke asked, a bit smug.

"A demon."

A wave of sand nearly crashed into Yusuke, but the demon king quickly picked up the two boys and placed them in a safe distance from the red head.

Yusuke reappeared in front of Gaara, whose eyes went wide with surprise. The demon lord smirked and flicked the other's forehead. It shouldn't have done much, Yusuke didn't add any youki or spirit energy into it, but the other boy fell and sat on the ground, staring at Yusuke in amazement.

"What are you doing?" Hiei asked glaring at the red headed boy. Naruto jumped in surprise from Hiei's sudden appearance. Hiei ignored him and narrowed his blood red eyes. "Does he…feel strange to you?"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Did you just _hesitate_?" He frowned, then glanced at the boy he flicked. "Are you…thinking what I'm thinking?"

The full blooded demon sneered. "_Shinobi_." He turned on his heel and disappeared.

Naruto was confused. He didn't understand what Hiei meant. He turned his bemused face towards his elder brother. Yusuke just shook his head as he examined the strange boy. He kneeled until they were eye level and he raked his eyes over the red head. Naruto was even more confused. Yusuke slowly, deliberately raised a finger and poked Gaara on the forehead, over a strange tattoo. The red head recoiled and scooted away, fear in his eyes.

_That _was definitely weird.

"Naruto?"

"Yes, 'nii-san?"

"If you ever get a tattoo, you'll be grounded for life."

Naruto burst out laughing, it was so out of place and completely random.

Yusuke stood up and helped the red haired boy stand. He ignored the flinch the boy produced at being touched.

"Damn. Hiei could of stayed a little longer to help me figure something out." Yusuke stood there for a while before he raised his hand and pressed it lightly against Gaara's forehead. The boy was too afraid to move. For about a moment, they stood like that. Naruto just stood there, utterly confused. He didn't even notice a woman running up to them and quickly leaving with the child from earlier tucked under her arm.

Finally, Yusuke pulled away. Gaara was staring at him in awe now. Yusuke patted his head and turned to leave.

Naruto stared at Yusuke's retreating back before risking a glance at the red head. Gaara stood stock still, eyes wide, and mouth slightly hanging open. The blond frowned. _'He sort of…reminds me of me…'_ Quickly making up his mind, he ran up to the boy and smiled at him before running after Yusuke.

Gaara, after a few moments, stared at the gem winking at him from his palm. The soothing green color of it made a small smile tug at his lips. Those smiles would forever be imprited in his mind.

* * *

Kurama rubbed his forehead. He looked up at Naruto before looking down again. After a few moments, he finally decided to ask a question. "You gave away one of Yusuke's priceless gems?"

"Er-yeah. Is that ok?" Naruto shifted uncomfortably.

Yusuke suppressed a smile.

"You _did_ hear the 'priceless' part, right?" Yusuke asked. He couldn't keep the amused tone out of his voice.

Naruto looked between them. "Am I in trouble?"

Kurama sat down heavily.

"No biggie," Yusuke said with a smirk.

The red head was definitely glaring at him. "What I would like to know is how you even had one to begin with," Kurama said slowly. He was giving Yusuke suspicious looks.

"Three," Naruto said. At Kurama's look, he smiled sheepishly. "Er, two now. I saw Yusuke holding one once, I thought it was kind of pretty and asked for one."

Kurama turned a poisonous look to Yusuke.

"Oh please!" Yusuke said, desperately trying to hold back his laughter. "You're just angry 'cause after years of trying to break into a demon king's vault, you couldn't get one. And, Naruto got _three _by just asking!"

"Those are priceless! Priceless demon gems, being given freely!" Kurama moaned in despair.

"Well, do you want one too?" Yusuke asked graciously.

The red head actually thought about it. "No," Kurama said without much care, collecting his cool. "It's not worth nearly as much now."

* * *

End Chapter Two: Meet Childhood

* * *

How was that? I'm going to go for it, I'm going to be original! Or, at least more so than my other fics…I think.

Reviews? Give me some ideas to inspire me and maybe I'll update faster!

Ok, seriously, I really need some inspiration here! Not to mention motivation!

Er, what do you think about their relationship? I thought it's be kinda interesting for Naruto to be jealous of Kuwabara, of all people. Hiei…I don't know if you guys like their relationship, since I made them kind of like strangers. Hiei just doesn't strike me as someone who…would be fond of Naruto, you know? I can't stand him being all friendly and caring. He's a bit protective of Naruto, but it's not because he likes him. I'll explain later. It links with Keiko.

Ideas welcome. Criticism even more so. It can only improve me, right?


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